After reading the play Romeo and Juliet, I thought of it as an overall good play and many people agree with me. The reason why I think why Romeo and Juliet has remained a popular play for this long is because the theme is still relevant and universal today.
My thoughts of the tragic play once it ended were that it was quite good and even though it was written 400 years ago, thousands of people today can still relate to it. This is due to the universal themes in the play such as love, hate, and rebellion. The theme of love is one of the main themes of the story, such as when Romeo loves Rosaline. As Bill Johnson said in his review of the play, “It comes out quite quickly that Romeo is lovesick. "Out of her favor where I am in love."” Later Romeo meets and falls in love with Juliet who is a Capulet. The rest of the play focuses on these two as they try to find a way to be together. Throughout the story, the theme of hate is also present. The best example of this is the fighting between the Capulets and Montagues. This is described when Romeo discovers that he loves one of his sworn enemies, Juliet who is a Capulet, when he says "O dear account! My life is my foe's debt." As Billl Johnson also points out “Juliet, on learning Romeo's identify, speaks,” "My only love sprung from my only hate! Too early seen unknown, and known too late! Prodigious birth it is to me. That I must love a loathed enemy." This shows that the relationship between the Capulets and Montegues isn’t good at all. Also the theme of rebellion is apparent throughout the play most notably when Romeo and Juliet decide to get married even though their families are sworn enemies. As Bill Johnson said “Romeo meets with Friar Lawrence and asks that he perform the marriage to Juliet. Friar Lawrence chides Romeo, that he was so recently lovesick over Rosalind. But he agrees to the marriage because it would end the feud between the two clans.” This means that the friar hopes that their rebellion would bring an end to the feuding between the families. Also the website Cliffnotes.com says “Juliet’s attitude anticipates her rebellion against her parents later in the play; as the gap between Juliet and her family widens,” meaning that her rebellion from her family is separating her from them. This is described in the line “O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name; Or, if thou wilt not, be sworn my love, And I’ll no longer be a Capulet.”
These are all the themes that people today can relate to and they will for a long time to come which is why I think the play will still be around for a long time.
After reading the play Romeo and Juliet, I thought of it as an overall good play and many people agree with me. The reason why I think why Romeo and Juliet has remained a popular play for this long is because the theme is still relevant and universal today.
My thoughts of the tragic play once it ended were that it was quite good and even though it was written 400 years ago, thousands of people today can still relate to it. This is due to the universal themes in the play such as love, hate, and rebellion. The theme of love is one of the main themes of the story, such as when Romeo loves Rosaline. As Bill Johnson said in his review of the play, “It comes out quite quickly that Romeo is lovesick. "Out of her favor where I am in love."” Later Romeo meets and falls in love with Juliet who is a Capulet. The rest of the play focuses on these two as they try to find a way to be together. Throughout the story, the theme of hate is also present. The best example of this is the fighting between the Capulets and Montagues. This is described when Romeo discovers that he loves one of his sworn enemies, Juliet who is a Capulet, when he says "O dear account! My life is my foe's debt." As Billl Johnson also points out “Juliet, on learning Romeo's identify, speaks,” "My only love sprung from my only hate! Too early seen unknown, and known too late! Prodigious birth it is to me. That I must love a loathed enemy." This shows that the relationship between the Capulets and Montegues isn’t good at all. Also the theme of rebellion is apparent throughout the play most notably when Romeo and Juliet decide to get married even though their families are sworn enemies. As Bill Johnson said “Romeo meets with Friar Lawrence and asks that he perform the marriage to Juliet. Friar Lawrence chides Romeo, that he was so recently lovesick over Rosalind. But he agrees to the marriage because it would end the feud between the two clans.” This means that the friar hopes that their rebellion would bring an end to the feuding between the families. Also the website Cliffnotes.com says “Juliet’s attitude anticipates her rebellion against her parents later in the play; as the gap between Juliet and her family widens,” meaning that her rebellion from her family is separating her from them. This is described in the line “O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name; Or, if thou wilt not, be sworn my love, And I’ll no longer be a Capulet.”
These are all the themes that people today can relate to and they will for a long time to come which is why I think the play will still be around for a long time.